Light.
That was the first thing I noticed. Or maybe it was the only thing I noticed.
It was everywhere. Around me, above me, inside me. Just blinding light, endless and overwhelming. No sound, no smell, no feeling at all—my senses were like they'd been shut off. I couldn't even tell if I was breathing. Honestly, I wasn't even sure if I was alive.
But then again… if I was really dead, how was I still thinking this clearly?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a sharp ringing cut through the nothingness. Loud. Obnoxious. The kind of ringing that makes you want to smash your head into a brick wall until it stops. No? Just me? Maybe that's because the silence before had been so calm, so strangely peaceful, and then suddenly this ear-splitting noise just barged in and ruined everything. Even if that peace only lasted for a moment, I still wanted it back.
And just like that, the blinding light started to fade.
Bit by bit, my senses returned. I could hear faintly, smell faintly, feel faintly. Everything was hazy, but at least it was something. My body felt heavy, like it had been drained of all strength. I tried standing up, only for my knees to give out instantly. My face met the ground—hard.
Except… not that hard. Grass.
Warm, soft grass. Which, honestly, wasn't what I expected at all. But I'd take it. It was better than concrete or stone.
So, I just stayed there, flat on the ground, breathing slowly and waiting for my body to feel like it belonged to me again. After what felt like forever, strength trickled back into my limbs. With a groan, I pushed myself up and finally took a good look around.
Trees. Lots of them. Thick, towering, almost endless.
A forest. At night.
And I was alone.
"Great…" I muttered under my breath.
My stomach twisted with nerves, but then I spotted something that made me forget about the creeping fear: a pond, not too far away. My throat instantly burned with thirst, so I stumbled toward it like a starving dog spotting a steak. I dropped to my knees by the water and drank greedily, not even caring if it was safe. Poison? Bacteria? Parasites? Whatever. At that moment, water was water.
Lucky me, it wasn't poisoned. No weird taste. Clear as glass. Almost… too clear, honestly.
As I drank, I caught sight of my reflection in the surface. Black hair, green eyes, and deep, ugly eye bags that screamed "this kid doesn't sleep". Not exactly flattering, but hey, at least it was familiar. It reminded me of school. Of the endless nights I stayed awake because of stress.
And the bullying.
I grimaced at the thought. The hospital. The months of recovery. The bastards who put me there getting away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist because their families had money. Their "apologies" at my bedside, forced and empty, still burned in my memory.
At least their families had covered the hospital bills. Small mercy.
I shook my head and stared deeper into the pond, trying not to think about it. "This place isn't creepy at all," I muttered, my voice cracking slightly. "Not creepy. Not dangerous. Totally fine. I'm not scared in the slightest."
My body betrayed me, though. My hands were trembling. My legs felt weak. And I definitely wasn't about to admit it, but if some monster showed up right then, I was about two seconds away from wetting myself.
Not that monsters were real, of course.
Right?
I mean, it's not like I'd been transmigrated into some fantasy world full of magic and mythical beasts. That only happens in novels. I was probably just… kidnapped? Maybe? Like, some psychopath thought it would be funny to toss a flashbang in the middle of the school bathroom while I was eating lunch in peace—because, yeah, I eat lunch in the bathroom. Don't judge me. At least nobody can steal my food there.
But if that was the case, then why a forest? The school was in the city, far away from any wilderness like this. Whoever kidnapped me would've had to drive for hours to dump me here. And who even does that?
…Okay, so maybe it was slightly possible I was transmigrated. Maybe.
But I shoved that thought aside. Thinking about it now wouldn't help. What I needed to focus on was survival. Answers could wait.
I pushed myself to my feet and started exploring, trying to ignore the gnawing dread in my chest.
That's when it happened.
A thunderous boom shook the air, loud enough to make my ears ring all over again. I whipped my head around, trying to find the source, and my eyes widened.
Flames.
Exploding into the sky, tearing downward faster than I could process.
I didn't think. I just ran.
The forest blurred around me as I sprinted, lungs burning, legs pumping with whatever adrenaline I had left. Behind me, the fire spread like a living monster, devouring everything. And not just ordinary fire—this was hotter, brighter, almost blue in its intensity.
The wind carried smoke, choking me, and at the same time made the flames spread even faster.
I wasn't alone, either. Footsteps thundered all around me. I risked a glance and nearly tripped. Dozens—no, hundreds—of animals were fleeing alongside me. Deer, wolves, even birds overhead, all running in the same direction.
And they were faster than me. Every single one of them.
If they were struggling to get away, what chance did I have?
My legs screamed in protest, my body ready to collapse, but I forced myself to keep going. Fear and adrenaline were the only things dragging me forward.
Then I saw it.
A cave.
My heart leapt. It was the only option. The fire was seconds behind me now; I could feel its heat searing the back of my neck. My vision blurred, my breath came in ragged gasps, but I pushed harder, dodging fallen branches and weaving through panicked animals.
The cave loomed closer. I threw myself toward it with everything I had left.
The flames licked at my heels.
And just as I stumbled into the darkness, a burning tree crashed down, blocking the entrance and sealing me inside. The fire roared against the rock, but it couldn't reach me anymore.
Safe.
Barely.
I collapsed onto the cold stone floor, my body trembling violently. My mind blanked, and before I could even think another thought, sleep swallowed me whole.
***
Outside, the world burned.
The animals that couldn't fly reached a cliff, their desperate escape cut short. One by one, they fell, their screams silenced by the fire chasing them. Those who didn't fall were consumed by the flames anyway, their bodies turned to ash, the ones to survive were those who were capable of flight.
The forest itself was gone. Trees, grass, every bit of greenery—reduced to nothing but blackened remains and ash. The flames didn't stop for beauty. They only stopped when something stronger forced them to.
At the heart of it all, a crater lay where the explosion had begun.
In its center was a man.
His suit was burned and tattered, his body covered in blood. Black horns protruded from his head, One horn had it's other half missing by the flames, and the other had many chips. His presence was suffocating, cold enough to make the air heavy—yet even his chilling aura couldn't hold back the destruction he'd unleashed.
Clutching his chest where his heart should have been, the man lay dying.
And still, he spoke.
"Well… I guess today really is my day to die." His voice was calm, commanding even in its weakness. Blood dripped from his lips as he coughed. "It's been a good fight, Saintess… even if you caught me off-guard. Goodbye, world."
His final words hung in the air as his body went still. Death took him without resistance.
A figure stood above him. A woman, she was wearing an armor made from a special ore unknown it was silver and gold the armor covered her head to toes, on her back a cape bright red with a logo in golden color a dragon in the middle and two swords on the neck of the dragon, with her blade still gleaming faintly with flames. She brushed off the shards of frozen energy the man had thrown at her and turned away, her voice soft but firm.
"Rest at ease, demon."
And then she was gone, vanishing faster than sound itself.
***
Meanwhile, inside the cave, I stirred awake.
My head throbbed, my body felt like it had been steamrolled, and the faint sound of dripping water echoed deeper within the cavern.
"Ugh… this sucks."
I dragged myself upright with a groan. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but no—the sound from deeper in the cave was real. Worse, I could see light flickering faintly from that direction.
Which was bad. Very bad.
The rocks blocking the entrance were too heavy to move. I'd already tried pushing at them and nearly passed out from the effort. Even if I had the strength, it would've taken hours. And I didn't have hours.
So that left one option.
Go deeper.
Honestly, I'd seen drunk people walk straighter than I was at that point. My legs buckled every few steps, and I fell more times than I could count. It reminded me of elementary school, when I had to sing the ABC song a hundred times just to pass some dumb assignment. That's how many times I collapsed.
Still, I pushed forward. Because what else could I do? Stay here and starve?
Gathering what little courage I had, I staggered deeper into the darkness.
Not knowing that what I'd find next would change everything.